Improvement in machinery for unloading railroad-cars



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN DABLE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINERY FOR UNLOADING RAILROAD-CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56,906, dated August 7,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JoHN DARLE, of Chicago, Cook county, State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machineryfor Unloading Grain from Cars, Vessels, Ste.; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in whichy Figure l is a top view of the improved machine.Fig. 2is an elevation of one side of the machine. Fig. 3 is a verticalsection through the center of the machine without the swinging frame.Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section, showing the windlass and its slidingclutch. Fig. 5 is a view` in detail, showing the springstop for holdingthe clutch-lever in its desired positions. y

Similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention relates to certain new and useful` improvements on themachine which forms the subject of Letters Patent No. 44,937, forunloading grain from railroad cars.

The first part of my invention consists in laying the rope or chain uponthe drum or windlass in an even and close manner by means of ahorizontally-vibratin g arm carrying a pnl ley, under which the ropepasses, said swinging arm being held down in its place against thepressure of the rope by means of anti-friction rollers whichA have anupward bearing, as will be hereinafter described.

The second part of myinvention consists in housing the windlass or drumin such manner that the rope which is wound thereon shall not be liableto run off and wind around the shaft, or to fray or wear out upon theanges of said drum, as will be hereinafter described.

The third part of my invention consists in providing for allowing therope which is wound upon the drum'to untwist by attaching the rope tothe drum by means of a swiveling connection, as will be hereinafterdescribed.

The fourth part of my' invention consists in the application of a springfriction-brake to the ange of the drum or windlass for the purpose ofpreventing the rope from unwinding too freely.

The fifth part of my invention consists in applying a spring-stop to theend of the clutchlever for the purpose of preventing the clutch frommoving into gear with the drum, or out of gear therefrom, when notrequired.

The sixth part of my invention consists in providing fbr giving alateral adjustment to the swinging frame or shears, and establishing thesame so as to operate at any desired point.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I willdescribe its construction and operation. l

In the accompanying drawings, A A' represent two horizontal sill-beams,which are secured together by means of transverse braces, so as toconstitute the foundation frame for supporting the machinery hereinafterto be described. Bis a rectangular frame, which is bolted upon the twosills A A', and C is a horizontal shaft, which has its bearings inysuitable. boxes on the frame B. This shaft is allowed to rotate freely,but it is prevented from having end play by the collars which are formedon it, as shown in Fig. l.

C' is a hanged drum, which is placed upon the shaft C so that it willturn loosely thereon, and C2 is a clutch, which is applied to `shaft Cso that it will turn with this shaft,

and also so that it may be moved forward and backward thereon. Thisclutch has a tooth formed on that end which is nearest the flanged drumC', which tooth can be made to engage with a corresponding tooth whichis on the drum, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. l.

When the clutch-cylinder C2 is movedginto gear with drum C' this drumwill be turned with the shaft C; but when the clutch is out of gear thedrum will remain stationary when the shaft C is turned.

D represents an L or bell-crank shaped lever having a yoke on one endwhich embraces the smallest part of the clutch. This lever is pivoted ata to the frame B, and its opposite end is connected to a slotted lever,D', by means of a connecting-rod, D2.

Lever D' is pivoted to a projection ofthe frame B, so as to receivethrough its slot the rope which is wound upon the drum C', as shown inFigs. l, 2, and 3.

The rope or chain b has an enlargement, b', formed on it at a suitablepoint, and when this enlargement is brought in contact with the lever D'it will move this lever until the clutch C2 is thrown out of gear fromthe drum C', thus automatically stopping the further winding up of therope b.

To prevent the lever D from being moved casually, so as throw the clutchwhen not required, I employ a spring-stop, b2, one end of which ,issecured to the frame B, and the other end bears upon a reduced portionof the lever D, near the point of connection of the rod D2. That end ofthe spring b2 which presses upon lever D is bent so as to form aV-shaped stop, the inclined sides of which bear upon a ridge which isformed upon the lever D.

It will be seen that the lever D cannot be moved without lifting thespring-stop over the ridge, which will cause sufficient resistance toprevent the said lever from being casually moved by the slipping of therope b through the slotted lever. The clutch is moved into gear with thedrum C' by the attendant, a rope being attached to the outer end of theslotted lever D' for this purpose.

The rope b is attached to a swivel-eye, c, which is allowed to turnfreely in a plate, c', that is secured to the drum C' near one of theflanges thereof, as shown in Fig. 1`. The object of thus connecting therope to its drum is to allow the rope to untwist so that it will notkink, or rather to prevent the rope from twisting during the operationof winding it upon or unwinding it from the drum. The rope l) passesfrom the drum C' beneath a grooved pulley, c2, which is pivoted betweenthe forks of a vibrating arm, d, and from this pulley the rope passesbetween two grooved pulleys, c c, which are pivoted in a horizontalplane to a frame, B', that is secured to the frame B.

The arm d is constructed with a loop, d', which extends `beneath thepulley c2 and prevents the rope b from slipping off this pulley, and itis also constructed with a horizontal cross-head, d2, having twoanti-friction rollers,

m m, projecting from its upper surface and bearing against a horizontalbridge, d3, as shown in Figs. 1,2, and 3. The pulley c2, thus arranged,isintended forlaying the rope evenly upon the flanged drum C' as it iswound thereupon, and also to prevent the rope from overriding the 'lianges of the drum. To effectually prevent this overriding of the rope Ihouse the drum C' by means of tlie vertical boards E, which are recessedfor receiving the flanges of the drum, as indicated in Figs. 1 and`3.

To the outer vertical side of the sill A' a horizontal rod, g, issuitably secured by means of eye-supports g' g', and to this rod aframe, G, is pivoted, which frame is inclined, as shown in Fig. 2. Thisframe or shears is braced by means of diagonal and transverse braces, asshown in Fig. l, and its legs or side bars are Lspread out at theirpivoted ends.

Two grooved pulleys, h h, are pivoted to the outer end of the frame Gbetween two transverse plates, j j, and between these pulleysupper andlower ends w w convex, and the inner supporting-faces of the two jaws orplates j j, between which these pulleys rotate, are also convex, asillustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

GBy thus constructing the pulleys and their plates it will be seen thatthe former will not be liable to clog with `grain. If grain should getbetween the convex surfaces it will be quickly expelled, as it will findno lodgment.

The shovel (or scraper) which is used for.

gathering and discharging grain is attached to the ends of two chains,t' t', which are connected to a looped thimble, 7c, on the end of ropeb, and said shovel is drawn up to the door of a car by the winding upofthe rope b upon the drum C'. When the load is discharged from theshovel the attendant draws it back and again loads it.

The enlargement b' on the rope b consists of a conical thimble, which isheld in place on the rope by means of a knot which is termed by sailorsa Turks head.77 This thimble is much larger in diameter than the widthof the slot through thelever D', and consequently this lever will bemoved by it as the rope is wound upon the drum, and the clutch G2 willbe thrown out of gear and the drum stopped at the proper time fordischarging the load from the shovel.

The frame G is prevented from moving laterally when the machine is inoperation by means of teeth n n, which project from the lower ends ofthe side bars of said frame and enter spaces between the teeth of racksr r, which are bolted to the vertical side of the sill A', as shown inFigs. 1 and2. When itis desired to adjust the frame G laterally for thepurpose of adapting it to operate at the door of a car, this can be doneby elevating the outer end of said frame until the teeth u n arereleased from the vracks r r. When the frame has been adj usted properlyits outer end is again lowered and the teeth a n again engaged withtheir racks.

In the operation of the machine it has been found necessary to employ afriction-brake, J, to prevent the drum C' from unwinding the rope b toorapidly while carrying off the shovel to be loaded. This friction-brakeconsists of a spring, g, which is secured to the frame B, and having ashoe formed on its upper end, which shoe passes through a perforationthrough the housing E, and is pressed by the spring against the end ofthe drum C', as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. vThe horizontally-vibrating arm ol, constructed with a loop, d',cross-head d2, and pro- .vided with a pulley, c2, and anti-frictionrollers, in combination with the bridge-bearing d3, all operatingsubstantially as described, for laying the rope evenly upon the drum C'.

2. The construction and manner of application of the housing E E, inconnection with the machine herein described, for unloading railroadcarsand other receptacles of their contents, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination and arrangement of the swivel-coupling` c o', drumC', rope b, and hinged frame Gr, substantialbT in the manner and for thepurpose described.

4. The combination and arrangement of the spring friction device J, drumC', rope b, and

hinged frame G, substantially in the manner and for the purposedescribed.

5. The combination and arrangement of the V-form spring-Stoll)b2,clutcl1lever D, connecting-rod D2, lever D', drum C', and rope b b',substantially as and for the purpose described.

6. Connectingthe frame or shears G to the sill A bymeans of a rod, g,aud providing at the same time for adjusting said frame laterally andestablishing it at any desired point, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the convex ends w w of the pulleys h h with theconvex surfaces of the plates or jaws jj'of the hinged frame G,substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. The combination of the drum C, frictionbrake J, clutch-lever D,spring-stop b2, connecting rod D2, lever D, rope bb', and hinged frameG, substantially as and for the purpose described.

JOHN DABLE.

Witnesses C. A. LARooRD, U. Woont/IAN.

